Jon Cooper of Prince George, British Columbia won the Jack Adams Award on Wednesday according to nhl.com. The award is presented to the National Hockey League coach of the year.
During the 2025-26 NHL regular season, the Lightning had the fifth best record. They had 50 wins, 26 regulation losses and six losses in extra time for 106 points. The only teams with more points than the Lightning this past year were the Colorado Avalanche (121 points), the Carolina Hurricanes (113 points), the Dallas Stars (112 points) and the Buffalo Sabres (109 points).
Cooper helped the Lightning exceed expectations this past year. Tampa Bay eclipsed the century mark in total points with captain Victor Hedman missing 49 games and All-Star center Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta missing 19 games.
However, it was a difficult playoff for the Lightning. They lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round.
Cooper is the second Lightning coach all-time to win the Jack Adams Award. The first was John Tortorella, who received the honour in 2004. During the 2003-04 season, the Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames to win the Stanley Cup Finals. In 2025-26, Tortorella is now only three wins away from winning another Stanley Cup. This time with the Vegas Golden Knights. On Tuesday, Vegas defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in game one of the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals.
